YOU have to feel sorry for the GAA.

So principled, and all that. Croke Park is the home of the national game, not the national interest.

It may be a tidy little earner, but it is not the national mint. Just because millions from the public have been sunk into its construction doesn't mean it is in hock to anybody. Except the players. Here you have DJ Carey, the Kilkenny maestro and most stylish hurler of modern times, subtly letting them know that they must treat their players with respect. The kind of respect which allows them to turn down offers from other sporting codes. Instead, players have to rely on national exposure to set up a little business or open the customary pub. Where's the profit in that?

Richard Dowling,